Packing for pistons



I (No Model.) I

R. MGKENNA. PACKING FOR PISTONS.

Patented May 15, 1883.

[72 0e 72' for UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

ROBERT MeKEnnA, OF WHITES .SIATION, TENNESSEE, Assrenoa TO DOLLY A. MGKENNA, F SAME 'PLAcE, ANDYMAUD E. MOKENNA. OF Louis VILLE, KENTUCKY.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters PatentNo; 277,764, dated Hay 15, Application tiled February 24,1883. (Nomodeh) To all whom it may concern Be it known that I. ROBERT MoKENNA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Whites Station, in the county of Shelby, State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Packing for Pistons of Steam-Engines, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to a new and improved piston-packing for steam or other engines; and it consists in one or more wire .rings whose periphery is coincident with the'sur face of the inside of the cylinder, said ring or rings being held in position and their coincideuce assured by means of any suitable yield- I 5 mg materal, such as cotton, hemp, or other fibrous or elastic material.

The object ot'my. invention is to provide a piston-packing which is easily and quickly put in place by'any person, whether skilled or unskilled in the art, is self-adjusting, which will prevent steam from passing the piston, and one in which friction is reduced to a minimum. The construction and arrangement of the sow eral parts will be hereinafter more fully set 2 5 forth in the specification, and pointed out in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a transverse section of a cylinder of a steam-engine in, which my improved pack ing-ring is shown; Fig. 2',"a vertical section 0 of asteain-engiiic cylinder, showing the wire packing held in position by the fibrous material and Fig. 3 is a detail View of, the wire packing-ring.

Referring more particularly tothe-drawin gs, A represents a cylinder of a steam-engine, provided with a piston, 13, and follower D, of the usual construction. The packing of the piston is accomplished in the following manner: On the head of the piston I first place the clas- 4o tic material (3. On this I place the wire packing. E, which consists of a wire ring uucon-' 'nected'at a point of its circumference to allow it to expand, and provided at this unconnected point with'a lap-joint to enable it to retain acontinuous circumference under expansion. Upon this I place another layerG of the elastic or lfib'rous material, and I can now put on the follower I), and the packing of the piston is completed. A pressure exously adapts itself to any Thus it will be seen thatit is not necessary for the fibrousniaterial O to press against the su-IF face of the inside of the cylinder in order to 6o prevent steam from passing the piston,- as this is accomplished by the wire packing.

In all piston-cylinders, no matter how care:

D on the material isby fully the inside surface is turned, there wili'b'e hard and soft places in the metal, which will" wear unevenly, and therefore give passage to the steam unless the packing can be 'au-tom'ati-- cally adjusted to these inequalities. This is.

accomplished by my device, as there is but a small touching surface of the packing-wire and cyliuder-sifrface, and the packing-is. made to conform toall of the inequalities by virtue of the lap-joint and compressed or expanded, as

described.

I am aware that previous to my invention metal packing'bands, which arecast and turned off, have been used; but in such bands there are often flaws in the metal, which are only developed by'wcar, and these flaws allow the passage of steam. There is then no remedy but to again turn otf the band and again ad just it to the cylinder. If this occurs'inore than'onc'e, a new hand must be provided, as

therewill be too much space left'between the surfaccot' the cylinder, and band. Again, in these cast-metal packing-bands, when they are adjusted in the cylinder, the inequalities of the quires a new adjustment, which will break the conformationalready formed by the wear between the band and cylinder and the bandand these inequalities. These objections'are' obviated by my wire packing E, which continu= face, and requires no pressure a coincidence. is formed. Moreover, my packsurfaces cause great friction until a seat has a I been formed, and any inequality of wear reineqnalityof thesnroutwardly after ing is not i njuz io l l s lyafi'ected oil s, eeidgl, or" eseribed; said ringlozf r ingsmdapfieil to be held gases; iricontachwith the-surface of the'ylinder by n Having thusdescribedmyinventidu, \v'hatI means of suitable yielding material, as declaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters scribed. 5 Patent, is I ROBERT MGKENNA. The ombination, wibhla, cylinder", apiston, Witnesses: e and apistdn-fbll0wer,0f one or-more wirepack- J. L. HAYNIE,

ing-rings provided with a lap-joint, as de-' J.R. BROOKS; 

